Prime Minister Nguyen Tan Dung made the statement at a meeting with representatives of the Vietnamese community in Seoul on March 28 as part of his official visit to the Republic of Korea.

He acknowledged practical contributions to the homeland by more than 4 million Vietnamese nationals residing abroad, including those from the Republic of Korea.

Vietnamese nationals abroad serve as a bridge for promoting cooperation and mutual understanding between Vietnam and other countries around the world, said Mr Dung.

He expressed his hope that the Vietnamese community in the RoK will continue to uphold the spirit of unity and mutual assistance, preserve and develop their traditional cultural identity, integrate well into local communities, and help strengthen the friendly and cooperative relations between the two countries.

The PM briefed them on major developments in the strategic partnership between Vietnam and the RoK.

The RoK is one of Vietnam’s biggest foreign investors and trade partners. Two-way trade last year hit nearly US$17.9 billion, up 39 percent over 2010. The two countries are striving to raise the trade figure to US$20 billion by 2015.

Representatives of the Vietnamese community thanked the Party and State for supporting their stable lives in the RoK and vowed to abide by the law of their country of residence and contribute to deepening Vietnam-RoK relations.

Currently, Vietnamese nationals in the RoK number 116,000, of whom approximately 5,000 are descendents of the famous Ly family.